October 16, 2009. Woke up feeling weird and moved to the couch. Ended up asking “M Sr” to stay home as I had a feeling today was the day.

I didn’t realize what I was experiencing were contractions for most of the day as my 1st 2 babies were induced and THOSE contractions were hard, in my back and hurt like hell. These were different….more like pressure…. and a baby’s head knocking to come out! LOL!

After FINALLY timing them on the advice of a friend we started to get things together and make our trip into the city. We had a few stops to make along the way, including dropping the kids off to be watched, and being driven to the hospital (parking is insane). I was also REALLY hungry! Being induced with my 1st 2, you have to have an empty stomach, and are STARVING 12 hours later after it is all said and done, so I didn’t want to take that chance. Man – I was so naive!! Contractions 3 mins apart and I am eating a Superboy burger and sharing fries and a drink!

Arrive at the hospital and check in – contractions now 2 mins apart and REALLY starting to hurt, and I am now feeling sick….hmmm…..I wonder why?!

It took a while to get registered, ‘checked’, monitored and then I am told to go for a walk – yeah, that lasted less than 10 mins. Suddenly I can barely walk and I am told “Yup! It’s time” and “Let’s get you to a room”! We barely got settled in and she was on her way – FAST! Daddy almost caught her – the Dr didn’t even make it into the room!

Checked into hospital at 19:10, she arrived on a water slide at 20:51 – no drugs, heck, almost no pushing! 7lbs of pure perfection – wide eyed and ready to conquer the world!

Welcome to the world my sweet baby girl “H”! We have been waiting for you! ❤

It was nice to have a baby girl again – pretty dresses, blankets and, of course, pretty scrapbooking things!! LOL! Her Big brother “M” ADORED her – and her right back, from early on. These two would become inseparable.

Pure adoration ❤

Such a beauty – I am one lucky Mamabear (and maybe a tad bias).

Biggest of all my babies at a “whopping” 7lbs, she still fit perfectly into her Daddy’s hand!

She was such a character early on – and really was just “cute as a button”.

Of course they grow so fast – but always so many smiles for Mommy and her infamous camera! (And yes – BALD! ALL my babies were bald until they were at least 2!)

Have you noticed the difference in my scrapbooking styles over these last few posts? The right tools and experiences REALLY make the difference. In this time I was also introduced to a nifty little machine called a Cricut™. You can find more on that here – just know that it is a game changer for letters and photos and layouts and more!

7 in the family was the max for this lady! 3 months after Miss “H” was born I had a tubal Ligation (NOT an experience I would recommend to anyone btw), no more bambinos for this Mama! I am blessed with 3 ❤

Having such a large blended family was interesting to say the least. We never had a dull moment (although the kids might disagree!). I have a very large extended family as well, so there were always family dinners, birthday parties or holiday celebrations happening. Plus the kids had sports, sleep overs, school events…. never a photo op shortage for this camera happy Mom, let me tell you!

And as I mentioned in my earlier Blog posts here and here, I was introduced to the world of scrapbooking, and I fell head over heels in love!

Aside from Michaels™ having an INCREDIBLE selection, plus amazing deals if you use their coupons, there was a small scrapbooking shop we frequented in Stonewall, MB, called the Scrap Yard. You can find them on Facebook here (store closed due a devastating fire in 2013). It was through retreats we attended through here that we were also introduced to Creative Memories™. Their tools made scrapbooking SO MUCH MORE FUN! CM™ allowed us to create so many different styles and add neat embellishments to our pages! If you look at “M”s 6 month photo here, you can see I wove lace through his photo. I accomplished this by using this “fancy” border maker tool by CM™. You can find out how to get yourself one by clicking here!

No, I am NOT a Creative Memories™ rep, lol! I just tell ’em like I see ’em!

The owner of the shop also introduced me to stamping and inking. My way of scrapbooking would change from that day on! I LOVE using stamps and inks (or chalk for that matter) to do lettering, edging etc. You will see this technique in my later posts 🙂

My 2 favorite places for scrapbooking retreats was the Wilderness Edge Resort in Pinawa MB, and at Camp Arnes in Arnes, MB. One was more of a “hotel” stay experience (Wilderness Edge) and the other was just like being at camp, but with a bunch of ladies and scrapbooks! If you have never gone on a scrapbooking retreat, or done crop nights – DO IT!!!! The camaraderie between everyone there is barre none. You will learn so much, and more than likely make new friends for life!

March 5, 2008 at 8:57pm, weighing an itty bitty 5lbs, 13oz and 20′ long, our sweet “M” came into this world.

He was just the cutest damn baby EVER! Wide eyed by the next morning, and soooo good!! But already at a day old – so serious! (He has an old soul).

We, of course, had hospital photos done on top of the million and a half I snapped while we had our stay (*scrapbooks you know – cough cough*)

My Sweet Sweet, tiny “M”.

Here he is on his first Easter (just a couple of weeks old!) Far cry from that strapping lad on my About page, hey?? He wore premie everything for a while, but it didn’t last long.

Though he be tiny – he be FIERCE. and STRONG! This boy grew so fast!!!!

6 months old – and I LOVE his little bald head!!!

He LOVED the outdoors (still does!!). So happy and smiling all of the time! And a little devil too!

This look meant trouble! It was a smile that forewarned us he was about to do something he shouldn’t! But doesn’t your heart just MELT looking at him! Oh to go back to these days!!!

THIS right here pretty much sums our M up! He was pulling himself up out of his crib and onto his high chair tray at 7 months, and RUNNING by 9! His uncle commented he was the only baby with a 6 pack! LOL! He kept us on our toes, and most of all, brought so much LOVE and JOY into our lives! Our family seemed like it was complete once more <3.

The pregnancy seemed a lot harder than when I was pregnant with “V”. Maybe it had to do with my age – there was 12 years difference after all! I wasn’t a young lady any more!!! Maybe it was the stress at home……whatever it was, it seemed to take forever for my little bean to arrive!

But I wasn’t worried!! I had my hobby to keep me busy!!! Here are a few pages I did of my tummy close to when I was due 🙂

This is a simple page – with a awesome poem I found on vellum and a little note from Mommy ❤

This is one of my favorites. I don’t know why – but the simplicity of the view of my baby belly…. just makes me smile.

This next one though – **warning – some mild nudity**

This is my absolute favorite ❤ I wish I had one like this of all my babies.

Side note – have you noticed the difference in the scrapbook pages?? It’s amazing the techniques you learn….more on that later 😉

Even though there wasn’t a lot of weight gain with “M”, the little man decided to sit right on my sciatic nerve, making everything impossible – sitting, walking, sleeping….yes, basically life – haha! Another trouble maker on my hand (boy – little did I know how true that statement would become)! So my OBGYN decided induction would be best…..

Finally the time has come!!! In a few hours we would be meeting our son!

How many other Mom’s out there got sucked into the “past time” that is scrapbooking? Be honest now!

It started out as a small hobby – something fun to do when my daughter was away, or the weather was crappy. My gf and I started out small….. and cheap! We thought this was the greatest thing since…… well since a lot of things actually! We frequented Dollaramas as they seemed to have a plethora of supplies – and were super inexpensive – perfect for us single Mommies! As you can see from my first posts, the pages were very….. simple. We had glue, and sticker embellishments, some scissors with fancy blades and a few shape cutters. We got creative (so we thought at the time) with popsicle sticks (to make pages look 3D) and beads, pins etc.

Well……THEN we were introduced to places such as Michaels and other small ACTUAL scrapbooking stores, and simple – and cheap – went right out the window! The selection and quality was superior, and we were literally in scrapbooking heaven! Could it get better? Actually YES – YES IT COULD! (More to come on that).

Of course after a couple of years of doing this, our lives again get busy, kids are older and time and passion for the hobby slows down. Aaaand we meet people that enter our lives and become “significant others”…….

I started dated “M Sr.” in May of 2005. I had known him for a few years prior, and actually, we didn’t get along! I am not sure what drew us together…… but this was the start of an almost decade long, tumultuous relationship.

Over time we moved in together and I became a step-mom to 2 beautiful young boys “N” and “J”. “V” and “N” were just over a year apart, and for the most part we all got along well. “M” drove truck at the time so I was home alone with the kids – and we had our routine – and I of course had my “hobby” to keep me busy!

We spent a lot of time outdoors and camping while “M Sr.” was home and did things normal families did – birthday parties, holidays etc. Being a blended family didn’t seem so hard! Plus I had a TON of great memories and pictures that I get to add to my scrapbook collection!!!

Then “M Sr.” had a falling out with his Dad (who he worked with) and decided a career change was in order. This is where life got ‘flipped, turned upside down’ (in the words of Wil Smith 😉 ). I wasn’t used to having someone around ALL the time! My routines were suddenly changed, and we all started arguing a lot more – even the kids amongst one another. We dealt with it as best we could. “M Sr.” went back to school for a new career and I continued on in my FT job, and we tried to handle things as a family unit.

In my last post I talked about being diagnosed with depression. These days it is a BIG topic of discussion, to which I am VERY grateful as it is so much easier to find help and support. However more education is needed, especially with public perception about children.

There is still this stigma that only adults can be depressed. That teens and young children couldn’t POSSIBLY have depression – after all – they are so young! What could they possibly be SAD about??

This is where education is needed. For people to realize that, yes, depression CAN be brought on by stress, a death etc, BUT it is ALSO a MEDICAL CONDITION. A chemical imbalance in the brain – a mood disorder – it is beyond one’s control, it is probably hereditary and it needs treatment. And this INCLUDES children.

Symptoms can include:

I was more than likely depressed as a child, and I KNOW I was in my teens. And I can NOT express enough how much of a difference counselling and anti-depressants made in my life. This will come up more throughout my journey…

I was happy again. I was able to finish school, hold long term jobs, and be the Mom I wanted – needed – to be!

YES! Sunshine was back in our lives!! And as I mentioned previously – this is where scrapbooking comes in!!!

Fighting depression is a lifelong battle. While medication helps control things, you ALSO need to live a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE and avoid triggers – like drugs, alcohol and other stressors.

So – I changed my spending habits – from going out to buying scrapbooking supplies! A gf and I decided we BOTH needed to focus on getting ourselves healthy and happy, and to dedicate more time to our families. And what better way than 2 girls changing into PJs, cranking the tunes and glorifying our memories with outlandish embellishments??? 😉

So as you can see I was a young Mom. Not a teen Mom, but still a young one. I enjoyed going out and having a good time – kind of how I got into “trouble” to begin with – haha. But in all seriousness, I wasn’t scared, or worried about becoming a Mom. I knew my life would change…..but only for the better.

I was also a young single Mom. I realized early on that it would be better that way. “V” was my true love in life, and I would only do things to make my life better so she would be happy. Or at least I would try my damn hardest to do so!

Seriously – LOOK at that chubby little angel!! OMG I could just eat her up!!! I can NOT believe how quickly time flies! This was a FUN photo shoot! Here is my other favorite from the day……

Haha – can you tell that one of my past times became scrapbooking???? We’ll get into that later, but get used to all the fancy schmancy pages as that is where almost all my photos are now!

This is my favorite part of this photo….. Take a close look – you can still see “cloud” fluff in “V”‘s toes! LOL! Made me love it even more!! I believe she was 3 months here.

A couple of months later and I am SO excited as she is starting to get HAIR!!! YES!!!!

Grandma wasn’t so excited because I started putting “horns” on her head! But really?? She actually LOOKS like a GIRL now! This photo still mesmerizes me to this day. My heart is taken ❤

Don’t we look like a happy couple?????

Ya ya – I know – AGAIN with the hair!! Still the 90’s!! About 1999 I believe!! My 3 year old now has hair IN ABUNDANCE!! And what a little lady! HA! That doesn’t last long!!

BUT this is also about the time when things REALLY started changing for me……HUGE…….

19 years, 2 months, 1 week ago…. that is when this photo was taken. On my birthday and 6 days before my “V” came into this world.

Not a WORD about the hair – got it?? LOL! It was the mid 90’s….what can I say? By 39 weeks cutting my bangs was the last thing on my mind. I guess straighteners weren’t popular then either hey???

So yes – 6 days before my little lady came to visit me I celebrated my 20th birthday….I wasn’t told she was a girl…but I knew. I had picked out her name every since I was 5 years old – crazy hey??

Fast forward 4 days – OB appt…. I am told to prepare for induction and possible C-section. (I had been having fetal assessments regularly – I don’t remember why. Not sure I even knew at 19/20 – I just did as my Dr said). Turns out this little peanut was facing up and losing amniotic fluid.

May 29, 1996. Checked into the hospital and prepared for induction. No c-section needed as baby has turned -yay!…but this little one wasn’t done having all of the fun yet…..oh no…..

When “V” turned she got tangled in her umbilical cord. Her heart rate dropped dangerously low a few times. “V” had to be ‘vacuumed’ out and had a very low apgar score so off to the NICU she went for a bit. First I got to see her little 6 lbs 12.5 oz body and to me she was perfect. And other than a small heart murmur – she was.

Does THAT look like the face of someone causing all sorts of trouble?? NEVER!!

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